Project Zero
by SirDragneel
Summary: Zeref was one of the best inventors of all time, and enabled humans to have a life in the cosmos. But when a mysterious accident wipes out his colony in a single night over 50 years ago, Lucy Heartfilia is left with his first, and greatest invention, "Project #0" [NALU][FUTURE AU]
1. Somewhere in Space

**FOR OUTFIT REFERENCE GO TO MY DA PAGE-Multisora101**

 **ITS WORTH IT w**

* * *

Everything was dusty and broken. Wires hung from the ceiling, sparks jumping off the useless cords. Lucy frowned, as the only sound to be heard was from the clack of her boots, or the crackle of electricity, and the only light came from the windows, where the stars shone through, a few broken lights on the floor, Lucy's flashlight, and the faint glow of the golden trim on her outfit.

"See anything Lu-chan?" a familiar voice sounded in, as Levy's calming tone came through Lucy's receiver. She exhaled gratefully as she responded "So far, just dust and old machinery... Seems odd for the most impenetrable base to go down in a single night... along with the man who made our lives possible..." Lucy said softly, as she turned down a corridor.

"I know... See if you can find his work station. He may have left behind some useful notes I could use" Levy spoke again, the sound of computers in the background.

Lucy nodded before answering, "Yeah, but that's assuming they didn't rot in the past 100 years"

Levy laughed in return before taking a more serious tone of voice "just, be careful. There's no damage on the outside pointing to a break in, nor did the machinery malfunction. Whatever did this... it was on the inside."

With that happy note, the sound of her best friend's voice was cut off, leaving Lucy in the not-so-calming silence.

Lucy froze, as she heard the sound of metal scraping against metal behind her, and loud thudding, which may have also been her erratic heartbeat. She slowly turned, hand clenching on her gun/light whip, but stiffened at the sight that stood in front of her. It looked as if it was made of black dust, de-forming and re-forming with glowing red eyes. The scraping sound she heard earlier was it's high-pitched screeching voice. And from the looks of it, more of these monsters were coming.

She steadied her hand and fired a few rounds, and watched the 5 creatures crumble like sand on the floor. She shook violently, and as she almost turned to run down the hall, the piles screeched loudly as they re-formed, eyes glaring.

"Oh, great, I only pissed them off, and they can't be killed..." She muttered before tearing down the hallway and into the nearest room. She locked the door and turned, and saw the second craziest thing she saw that day.

A boy about her age, with pink hair, in a glass tube filled with some kind of liquid. Wires were connected to his limbs, and it seemed to be preserving him. He wore a black outfit with blue, glowing, trim. He also had a mark glowing on his left cheek, which was like a stamped on '0', glowing the same blue as the trim on his clothes.

Lucy broke out of her reverie as she heard a loud ' ** _thump_** ' on the door behind her, and her mind set into panic mode, which was probably when she had all her best ideas. Her eyes flicked around the room, before she noticed something about the boy. He was _breathing_. The only living thing on this whole colony.

The pounding on the door got louder before she heard a slight _click_ and she realized that the monsters somehow UNLOCKED the door. From the outside. She did the first thing that came to her mind and slammed her hand on the glowing red button by the pinkette's glass cage, and all the creatures froze as a sudden pulse of energy flooded the room, along with him opening his eyes, which-to Lucy's surprise-were glowing blue, no pupils or irises, just a vast luminescent blue.

The glass shattered and he fell to the ground on his hands and knees in the puddle of liquid that poured out of the tube. Lucy started toward him as he coughed up water(?), and the black particle beasts snapped out of their apparent shock and moved forward hastily, as if scared of this person on the floor. They never got far as he was on his feet and charging at them before she could blink.

This guy was nothing if not fast, and that added with the fact that he was able to, what seemed like, disintegrate the monsters with no problem at all, he was a real life saver. And maybe a tad scary as his awakening made the previously dead lights flicker on and off out of control.

Somewhere along the line he ripped a broken pipe off the wall and used it to expertly spear three of them at once before they exploded in a puff of dust. Lucy's eyes couldn't keep up with his movements, yet he was hard to miss, because of the energy the exuded from him, the glow on his clothes, and the mark on his face, were shining a little too brightly.

He ran the pole through the last one and stopped, breathing heavily. ' _alright, so he's at least SOMEwhat human_ ' Lucy thought to herself.

She found herself flinching as he slowly turned, but when his face came into view, she noticed the dark circles under his lids, and sweat dripping down his face, and his eyes were no longer glowing. They were an intense green.

He opened his mouth to probably say something, but instead, his mouth kissed the metal floor as he passed out, the lights dying out with his consciousness.

Lucy inched toward him sleeping form as she turned on her communicator "Levy-chan...? I found something... some _one_..."


	2. Just a guy with amnesia

**Before I get started I would like to say, firstly, Thanks to xxIAmTheSkyxx for being my beta reader! She is a great person and author, love her! 2ndly, thanks to BAMITZSophie on DeviantArt for re-doing my picture in digital form so I could use it as the cover photo for this story!**

 **Also, I changed my name from Salamander-no-Natsu to Aarch-Angel-Wings! To avoid confusion! I can also be found on Tumblr with the same name!**

 **Please R &R!**

* * *

 _The sky was a brilliant blue, and the tall grass in the field a vibrant green. The field he lay in was surrounded by trees, beyond which he couldn't make out. He sat up, squinting at the bright light (was it always this bright?) as he tried to grab for some hint as to where he was, what he was doing there, what he was. He slowly stood and outstretched his arm to block the sun that shone on his face, examining his hand as he did so, and his arm, which was covered in a black sleeve._

 _He felt out of place in more ways than one. Like not only did he not belong in this place, but in this skin he was wearing. Moving felt robotic and stiff, and his eyes were heavy with fatigue. Had he been napping? Why?_

 _Who was he? Was he human? Did he have a name? Did people know him here?_

 ** _Why did he exist?_**

 _A person who didn't know their own name could hardly be considered a person at all._

 _A rustle of grass, the sound of someone walking toward him, snapped him out of his trance. He whirled around, eyes widened as he barely caught glimpse on a figure...a girl._

 _"Natsu Dragneel! What on earth are you doing here?!"_

 _He had just heard the words when a crippling pain throbbed in his chest. And then he faded back into the darkness..._

* * *

"Well, he's alive," Levy said firmly, staring at the monitor of her computer. Lucy nodded, glad to at least hear that, and turned her attention back to the resting boy on the infirmary table, who looked very similar as to when she found him—hooked up to a machine.

After Lucy had freed him from his prison on that other space station, he had single-handedly saved her life and then proceeded to pass out without a word. He had been asleep for close to a day, and—according to Levy—his energy levels were pretty low, so maybe a long rest was what he needed?

"Oh my—!" Lucy's train of thought shattered at Levy's remark, she looked over at the screen her friend was staring at and saw the reason for the outburst. The whole system was glowing brightly, flashing on and off, before the entire screen turned to static.

"I-it's been jammed..." Levy whispered.

They both turned their attention to the boy just as his eyes snapped wide open, gasping in huge breaths. He suddenly choked out a panicked cry and clawed at his chest frantically, writhing in pain. Lucy jumped out immediately and tried to hold him down to keep him from hurting himself, and Levy quickly took his other arm, pinning it down.

"Gray! Gajeel! Help!" Levy yelled out, and the two black-haired men stormed in. Seeing the struggling boy, they knew instantly what to do and took over for the two girls so they could figure out the problem.

"I—I don't know what's wrong...!" Levy said, at a loss for words as she tried to fix the computers, while Lucy started having a mini panic attack.

After several minutes of the boy yelling and crying out in pain, Lucy finally just tackled him in a hug, and began soothing him with gentle words. "Shh...it's fine... calm down...you're safe here," she whispered.

With a final shuddering breath, he stilled at last. He was shaking violently, and tears and sweat were streaking down his face.

Everyone stepped back, at a loss for words, until Lucy spoke again. "A-are you okay...?"

If he looked frightened, he was probably showing it. He had no clue what had happened—to him, or to that weird, peaceful meadow, or that girl...

He swallowed hard and wiped his eyes, still shaking pretty badly. "I-it felt like I was having a heart attack," he mumbled breathlessly. "I—I thought I was...dying..." The word tasted like poison on his tongue, but how else was he to describe it?

"I—I'm sorry but...do you have a name?" Lucy asked gently as he pulled the wires off and stood up.

"I'm...Natsu Dragneel."

* * *

Natsu felt like a kid in a candy shop. Or a kid in the most terrifying place ever, like a graveyard, or haunted mansion...probably a little bit of both. Everything in this place either lit up or bleeped, or something like that, and he had no clue what these two girls—Lucy and Levy—were talking about. The hell was a "teevee" and "kumpyuter"? These people made NO sense.

Not to mention the two guys behind him in similar white-and-gold uniforms as the ladies were glaring at the back of his head like they were expecting another eye to pop out there or something. He grumbled in distaste through this whole thing, while they chattered endlessly about something else he knew absolutely nothing about.

First they brought him into some room where they made him strip to his underwear and turn in a circle while they...checked him out or something? It all seemed pretty sketchy in his eyes.

Then they made him go into another room where they said they were going to take an "X-ray" and again, he had no clue what that was—which he'd voiced to them at least twenty times—but apparently there was a malfunction, because as soon as they started doing...whatever an X-ray was supposed to do, the thing started flashing like crazy before exploding.

It felt like he was getting a physical for the army...and with how these people were dressed and talked, it didn't seem too far from the truth.

He was all-too happy when they finally handed him his clothes back, and he dressed as fast as possible, slightly embarrassed at how much skin he had to show.

And now here they were, to add to the army feel, placing him in the middle of their little posse. He wasn't sure if he was some kind of war prisoner or was this how they treated all their "guests"? Deciding against voicing this thought, he tried understanding some of what the girls in front of him were talking about.

"...It was certainly bizarre. It's like every piece of machinery he comes by either malfunctions, breaks, or in the case of the X-ray, explodes!" Levy was saying.

"Well, the computer was working fine for most part, but then it suddenly went haywire, right?" said Lucy,

"Yeah, the readings on the scanners were normal, but as soon as he regained consciousness, it froze, and all we got was static..."

Natsu frowned, and then decided to speak. "Um, what's a scanner?"

Lucy blinked and turned to look at him. "It's a device that keeps up with your body's properties, so we can tell if you're in good health or not."

Natsu started sweating nervously. "...Device?"

One of the guys behind him groaned. "Does this guy not know anything?" Gray grumbled, folding his arms behind his head in impatience. Natsu's hands curled into fists at his sides in his anger, fighting the urge to beat the guy into next week. "I'll have you know, just because I'm not used to whatever weird occult things you guys are up to, it doesn't mean that I'm an idiot."

Gajeel raised an eyebrow. "Oh, yeah? Because _every_ human being has been living like this for over a hundred years."

Natsu froze, unable to believe his ears. A hundred years? That was insane! "So your cult took over the earth?!" he shouted, trying to keep from having a panic attack. "Is this like some kind of underground facility?! Am I being held hostage or something?!"

He stopped as Levy's laugh cut him off and stared at her in confusion.

"Oh, no; we're the exact opposite from _underground_ ," she stated, voice still tinged with amusement.

"Wh-what do you mean?" Natsu asked warily, and everyone stopped walking, confusing him briefly, until he saw the giant metal door blocking them. Levy fiddled with some buttons by it and it opened, which answered Natsu's other question.

In the room, was what seemed like an office, a simple metal room, with high ceilings, a tall-backed chair, a desk, and some other things Natsu didn't recognize. But he could care less about that, or even the person sitting at said desk. Beyond the desk was a huge window that took up the entire wall. All he could see were stars—an endless amount of stars.

"Natsu Dragneel, this is space station #13—F.T., or Fairy Tail. We are one of the few remaining stations after rest were wiped out one by one mysteriously, and thanks to you and Ms. Heartfilia, we know why." The woman in the chair gave a small triumphant smile. "My name is Hisui E. Fiore. But you may call me Captain Hisui, or Madame, if you so prefer. You are now in my ship, which means you're under my jurisdiction, meaning...you have no choice but to head my rules, understand, Dragneel?"

Natsu could definitely feel his legs shaking, but not from the assertive, slightly threatening aura, but more from the fact that...

"I'M IN OUTER SPACE?!" he cried, rushing to the window, feeling a sudden wrench of sadness inside him as he stared into endless blackness. He suddenly remembered his dream, the tall green grass, blue skies, beautiful forests, and the bright, warm sun...

Was all of that gone now? He was really no longer on Earth...?

Hisui, who was apparently as unsympathetic as a hungry lion, was only angered by him ignoring her question. "Mr. Dragneel—!" she began, and Natsu was prepared for a lecture, but a sweet voice cut in before more could be said.

"Please Madame—he just woke up, and he's just confused. He has no idea about our way of life. Can't I escort him to his room for the night? We can question him tomorrow, after he's calmed down a little."

Natsu turned to see Lucy Heartfilia holding her hands tightly against her chest, biting her lower lip and looking like she was bracing herself for the slap of a lifetime.

 _Poor thing_ , he thought to himself. He could see now that these people acted like a military of sorts—no one questioning orders. But this girl seemed to be different—she wasn't afraid to speak up and obviously didn't like the formalities. He and this girl would get along swimmingly.

Hisui sighed, and pressed her palm to her temple. "Perhaps...we are all exhausted. Lucy, escort him to room #307. We'll resume meeting tomorrow." With that, she spun in her chair to face the window with a flourish as Gajeel ushered Natsu towards Lucy.

"Good luck," he mumbled before leaving with Levy and Gray.

And so, Lucy led him out of the room, and down another hall.

* * *

"I'm terribly sorry about that..." Lucy said to Natsu, who stood by the bedroom window and stared out into the cosmos.

He glanced out of the corner of his eye towards her before refocusing on the scenery. "S'ok. And thanks, for uh, speaking up like that...I need a bit to wrap my head around this," he muttered.

Lucy, who had been staring at the odd mark on his cheek, nodded, before turning towards the exit. "I see...well, my room is next door if you require something, and the bathroom is right through there," she said, indicating the direction. "Well, see you tomorrow," she added quickly before rushing out of the room.

She fanned her face as she stepped into the more spacious, air-conditioned hallway. Why was she burning up, anyway?

"He's pretty cute, huh?" a voice said from next to her. Lucy nearly jumped out of her skin as Levy apparently materialized next to her.

"L-L-Levy-chan!" she stammered, and Levy only laughed at her ever-reddening face.

"Oh, Lu-chan, you're hopeless!" she called out as she walked past her and retreated to her own room.

Lucy sighed, and looked back at the door leading to Natsu's room.

Well, he was kind of cute...but it'd be no good hitting on an amnesiac anyway. She sighed and turned to go to her own room. "Who is he anyway?" she muttered. "That's the real question..."

She closed her door behind her, to remain shut for the rest of the night.


	3. What Are You When You Aren't Human?

**DISCLAIMERS: I obviously don't own FT. I mean, c'mon, this is a fanfic site; go to fictionpress for original work.**

 **My beta reader is xxIAmTheSkyxx, my beautiful soul-senpai!**

 **Art was done with help by BAMITZSophie on DeviantArt! Emjoy!**

* * *

 _"Natsu, you haven't been acting yourself lately," the sweet voice across from him said._

 _He wasn't quite sure how he got here, but he was eating dinner with a girl, a very pretty girl, with short silvery hair that just brushed against her chin. Her dress was the simple, long dress of a homemaker, which was blue and white, with a white apron over it._

 _Natsu wasn't sure how to respond to her comment as he had no idea what "himself" was. "A-am I? I guess I'm just...tired and stressed..." he mumbled, averting his eyes to look out a window, where the sun was starting to set._

 _"I would imagine...none of us expected someone like you to join the group of rangers defending the town from those bandits," she said, almost sadly. "Maybe you should reconsider... Zeref and I are terribly worried..."_

 _Natsu felt his heart race as she said that name, and his blood burned with recognition to it. "Z-Zeref..?"_

 _She smiled. "Well, your brother has always been worried..."_

 _His heart pounded harder and his chest, in the same way it had before he blacked out last time._

 _"I…"_

* * *

Natsu jolted awake in the most painful way, his heart beating on his ribs, making his whole body spasm. Lucy's words from last time echoed in his head, and he found himself calming down as the pain receded.

He took a few shaky breaths, and ran a hand through his hair, which was now sticky with sweat, as was the rest of his body. He threw the covers off himself and stood, deciding that a wash in what Lucy explained as a shower would be best.

And so, he began undressing as he crossed the bedchambers to the washroom.

But of course just as he was almost done, the door opened and a familiar, blonde girl stood in the doorway.

"Natsu! Good morn—!"

"..."

"..."

"..."

" _KYAAAAAAAA!"_

* * *

"I—I'm sorry...! How many times to I have to apologize?!" Lucy called as Natsu stormed ahead, cheeks ablaze from the image of him in his underwear that would probably haunt her dreams (which could be either good or bad).

"None of you people seem to respect privacy," he grumbled as he turned a corner, not quite sure where he was headed.

"I-it's my job to check on you in the mornings after what happened when you first woke up!" Lucy argued.

Natsu was about to argue, but he paused as they entered the kitchen, and he stared blankly.

"What's...?" he began, but was interrupted by a growl of frustration by the counter.

Lucy and Natsu looked over to see Gray wrestling with a toaster, before finally throwing said infernal device into ground where it stayed in an irreparable heap.

"Well, no Toaster Strudels for anyone this morning..." Lucy sighed as she scooped up the mess and set it on the island.

"Funny, that's what I was trying to make," Gray said, waving the packet of icing in her face, which she snatched from his hands.

"Don't play with your food Gray," Lucy huffed in annoyance. "We'll find something else for you to eat while we make another toaster."

Natsu, on the other hand, was all-too interested in this said "toaster" device. Also he was curious on what the "strudel of toasters" was, but priorities had him focus on the pathetic excuse of a machine. "What's a toaster..?" he asked, gently poking it with his finger. He then became completely immobile.

"How do you not know—WHAT THE HECK?!" Gray's exclamation got Lucy's attention and she turned, only to be as shocked as Gray.

Natsu, who had just been questioning the existence of a toaster, was halfway through with rebuilding it, making it look even better than before. Within a matter of seconds, there was now a fully rebuilt toaster, resting on the counter where a piece of trash had been just moments before.

More than that though, his eyes were glowing blue again.

"Now it seems some of your wiring was a bit messed up, so I had to trim some up and reconnect them so you won't always burn things in it. While I was at it, I made a remote control for it with a built-in clock so you can set a time for it to turn on and cook your toast. You can also load it with bread in in the compartment so you don't have to grab and put in a slice each time you use it," Natsu said quickly, pointing out all the new fancy features on the now-touchscreen toaster and remote, and by the time he finished talking, he had successfully made Gray's breakfast and iced a smiley face on it.

Gray slowly took a bite. "Shit, man; it's just a toaster..." he mumbled, ignoring how it was also the best toaster strudel he had tasted so far.

"Natsu...how did...?" Lucy asked, bewildered at his sudden actions, watching as his eyes returned to their normal green color.

He only blinked before staring at the rebuilt toaster, just as confused as the others.

"I...don't know..."

* * *

"Why do I have to meet the loud lady again?" Natsu asked, as he found he once again was being escorted by Lucy, Gray, Levy, and Gajeel. He not only recognized the halls they walked down, but he felt like there was some kind of line drawing out the direction to Hisui's office, or a subconscious in him telling him where it was. It felt like these walls and floors were an extension of his own body.

"Well, she has questions she wants to ask you about what happened at that abandoned station," Levy answered, as they turned a last corner and they all stood in front of the tall door that led into the office.

"Well, well; look who's back!" Hisui said rather loudly while rising from her seat, a proud smile splayed across her face.

Natsu was a bit taken aback by the display but answered nonetheless. "Erm, well, because I was told I had to answer questions... I don't remember much that happened there or what those things were, though."

Hisui nodded "I suspected as much, but I've had Ms. Heartfilia fill me in on _those_ details. My question for you is a tad different!"

Natsu blinked, and tilted his head slightly "Y-yes…?"

Hisui hopped down and prodded her pen at his cheek, startling him a bit. " _How_ , exactly, did you manage to kill them? Ms. Heartfilia was equipped with our specially designed hi-tec light whip energy gun, which can cut clean through our steel walls, but could not kill those... things." She paused and hit a button on her desk, making a screen lower from the ceiling, revealing a picture of one of the black creatures.

"This was recorded from the camera we had put in Ms. Heartfilia's shirt. And we have clear footage of her attempts to fight, but failing. She is also one of our best combatants here, so how could someone as clueless as you, defeat this unbeatable monster?"

They stood in silence, staring at Natsu for a while, waiting for an answer.

"I-I'm not sure," he said a last. "When I hit them, they just kinda...disintegrated. What are they, anyway...?"

Hisui held up a vial of the black powder that came from the creatures. "This is deactivated etherious, a mass of energy found in the cosmos by our once-great leader, Zeref."

Natsu flinched at the name, remembering his dream, before nodding in understanding.

"For years, our stations have been blinking out, one by one, starting with the first one, made by Zeref himself. Humanity is on the verge of blinking out of existence as well due to this apocalyptic outbreak. Whenever we have sent scouts to check the space stations that were attacked, they never return alive, so we never knew that this material, this energy, was cause of the problem. But thanks to you, we know this now."

"Y-You're welcome…?" Natsu said uncertainly, but Hisui shushed him.

"For some reason, you're the only one who can beat these creatures. So you're the only one who can save humanity. You, someone who may not be human at all, something that Zeref had kept safe for years, may be our only hope."

Natsu was certainly feeling the pressure as everyone in the room was staring at him expectantly, like he was supposed to leap up and save the day, when he had about as big a clue as to who he was as they did.

Before he could even give a proper answer, the whole station shook like they ran into a giant rock, but Natsu figured Hisui wasn't _that_ bad at steering. No it was something else. Something familiar. It felt like something was trying to rip his veins straight from his body, like he had lead in his blood and the world's most powerful magnet was pulling at him.

Before he knew what he was doing, he was running down the hall, to where he was being pulled to. He vaguely heard the others shout at him as they chased after him (rather futilely as he was pretty damn fast). Lucy shouted something about his eyes that he didn't quite pick up, but he didn't have time to ponder it either, as he turned a final corner to come face to face with a giant black creature, much like the one he and Lucy had seen on the abandoned station.

His blood pulsed excitedly inside him. He had no clue why he felt so eager to fight it, but he was, so he did the natural thing and charged at it. The lights flickered wildly around him, the blue trim on his outfit glowed brilliantly, and he felt his cheek burn as the stamped '0' shined brightly.

Satisfaction swelled in his chest as he drove his fist through the beast, and it pulsed a bit before collapsing into dust, and he turned, panting hard, to face the group behind him. Most of which were slack-jawed in surprise.

"I—I think this settles it," Hisui stated. "Natsu Dragneel, you are the only one who can save us. Starting from today, you are our 24/7 watch guard. Disobey this rule, and we will no longer provide lodging, hydration, and sustenance for you."

"WHAAAAT?!"

And this was how Natsu grew to dislike Hisui E. Fiore, A.K.A., the captain of Fairy Tail

* * *

 **Okay, so I understand there might be some confusion as this series progresses, so if anyone has any questions, I will answer them in the next chapter if it won't contain spoilers.**

 **Don't be afraid to review/ask questions! You may think your comment won't matter, but I cherish all of you guys! Thank you! :3**


	4. When The Medicine Wears Off

**DISCLAIMERS: I obviously don't own anything FT**

 **My beta reader is xxIAmTheSkyxx! AND SHE'S AN EPIC WRITER CHECK HER OUT!**

 **Art was done with help by BAMTIZSophie on DeviantArt!**

 **(P.S. Sorry for the long wait I blame everything on my beta reader (jkjk sorry Mira-san ^^; I swear I'm only teasing) lmao)**

* * *

"Levy? What's wrong?" the rough voice of Gajeel called out from lazing about on her couch, like he usually did while she was working.

Right now, the bluenette was sorting through Natsu's physical exams and X-rays they had taken while he had been unconscious, but the reason for her current alarm was because of something either really interesting or really unsettling. There was something in his blood obscuring the x-ray.

Gajeel looked over her shoulder, obviously not happy that she didn't answer. "Shorty?" he asked again, but froze when he saw the screen.

Levy shakily pointed to the screen. "G-Gajeel... is that...?"

"Etherious," Gajeel whispered "Was he...born like that...?"

"Impossible," Levy said quickly, cutting off his thoughts. "Someone...something did this to him..."

Levy closed her laptop, eyes wide in shock.

 _Was he...a human test subject?_

* * *

 _"Natsu..."_

 _His name was being called again. By this point, he was setting himself on auto-pilot—or, at least, this surreal dream was. The more dreams he had, the less freedom he had. He became a victim of this story that played out in his head, and for some reason, he dreaded reaching the end. With every night was another voice in his head screaming for it to stop._

 _The voice talking now belonged to none other than Zeref…his apparent brother._

 _"I don't want you joining this... military force. I know you've trained hard, to become stronger, but this—"_

 _Zeref never finished as Natsu's body revolted and he slammed his hands on the counter. "You think I can't be strong because of my sickness, don't you?!"_

 _Zeref looked taken aback, and took a while to answer "No, I just...I don't want to lose my only family," he said quietly._

 _Natsu instantly turned to the door, heading out, thoughts of a quiet lake lit up by fireflies filling his mind. "Stop babying me! I'm already engaged and will be married next month! It's about time you grew up, too, brother!"_

 _As the door slammed behind him, the scenery changed, like a jump forward in time. The lake he had just pictured was now in front of him, and everything succumbed to blackness once again as he fell to his knees immediately and began crying…crying out the sadness that was dark and eerily silent inside him._

 _He wanted it to just leave. He wanted to leave._

* * *

Apparently today's morning was now available with 100% more _yelling in his ears._ There was next to no time to calm down his erratic heartbeat as the green-haired captain asked why he was sleeping.

Apparently Lucy was there and noticed him trying to get a grip on himself, and so stopped Hisui, saying "Miss, calm down, we know he has a bad heart condition! You could—!"

She never finished, as Natsu had suddenly snapped, unsure why he did so, but his body revolted at the mere mention of _heart condition_.

"I'm _**fine**_ , okay?!" he yelled, making the two jump back in surprise. Heck, Natsu was a tad surprised himself for that outburst. Now, it wasn't uncommon for him to burst out at a lot of things, but this one was kind of uncalled for, even to _him_.

Lucy nodded as Natsu stood up, dusting himself off. "As for why I'm sleeping, it's because I stayed up all fuckin' night, playing cat and mouse with those freaky space mutants. In fact, I think it's only _normal_ for a guy to wanna take a break from saving everyone's asses, right?! I _am_ only human, after all!" he yelled, feeling pent-up rage inside him building up, maybe from the dreams, maybe just from Hisui, or maybe from the fact he was nowhere near home.

"You, Mr. Dragneel, are _far_ from human. And if you have a problem with how I run my ship, then go die out in space." Hisui snapped, clearly not pleased with Natsu's mini-rant.

"IF I'M NOT HUMAN, THEN WHAT THE HELL AM I?!" he screamed, feeling more like a small child than anything now. Amazing how one's emotions could wreck absolute on you. "All I wanted to know since I opened my eyes was what I was! Why am I here?! IF I'M NOT HUMAN, THEN DOES THAT MAKE ME A MONSTER?!"

Natsu couldn't explain it that well, but it felt like everything was crashing down on him at once. Since he woke up, his heart had only felt numb. Now that he was having these dreams, and feeling what he was (despite this immense sadness that was curled inside him like a sleeping dragon), he felt _whole_.

Lucy stared in shock at this pink-haired boy, who—for the past two days seemed so _disconnected_ —was now able to shout, revolt, and speak his mind. He did feel rather "otherworldly" back then, floaty and…unbelonging. But right now, he seemed more human than anyone else here.

"If I were to say, I'd say maybe a monster or a machine," Hisui said curtly before turning on her heels, leaving Natsu and Lucy alone.

Lucy turned to him, and bit back a gasp at the sight of his watery eyes.

"C'mon...let's get you to your room; you can take a shower there," she said gently, taking his hand and leading him down the hall to his room.

* * *

Lucy had been sitting on his bed when Natsu exited, wearing his white shirt but not his vest, which was hanging over a chair. Lucy blushed lightly as the white allowed her to better see his tan skin beneath, thanks to his wet body.

Natsu sat down next to Lucy, sighing deeply, probably not too happy about what had happened.

"Thanks...and, uh, sorry for snapping earlier..." he said quietly, staring out the window.

Lucy hummed, not following his gaze but rather staring at his faraway eyes, and then back down to his marked cheek.

 _Zero._

She muttered some kind of "It's okay" before subconsciously reaching up to skim her fingers over the faintly glowing 0. He jumped slightly at her touch, eyes shifting then to meet hers.

"I don't know what that means either," he said, a brief silence passing between them, before he finally spoke again. "Maybe I _am_ some kind of machine...I seem to be marked like one..."

Lucy then gasped and pulled back. "Natsu! You are no such thing! The reason she said that is because Levy found Etherious in your bloodstream last night! We think that's why you understand technology you interact with, but just because you have a power doesn't mean you're not human."

Natsu appeared shocked to hear this, and swallowed hard before answering, "How can you be so sure?"

"Because you've been acting more human than any of us. We're supposed to act like a perfect crew and never show emotion…at least not to her. But today, you got mad, you were sad, and you spoke your mind! And anyone with strong feelings like that has got to be human."

Lucy wasn't expecting Natsu to instantly stand, looking more determined than anything. "I—I'm gonna listen to you," he said. "I feel like you care more about me than anyone else here...I also feel you aren't lying." He took her hands into his. "So I'll believe you...just believe in me too, okay? I'll do my best to keep you safe!"

Well, she certainly hadn't expected that. Lucy fought against the wild red that splotched her cheeks, and nodded firmly.

"Okay! I believe in you!"

* * *

There was more of those little space buggers than Natsu had anticipated, and he had been running around all day. Poof one monster, and five minutes later, another popped up at the other end of the station. Good thing he at least knew he could practically read the whole space station and its layout layout now just by touching one of the consoles on the wall. And those were _everywhere_.

He found himself collapsing against the wall, panting hard with exhaustion by the time it was 9:00 PM, but he couldn't tell unless he looked at a clock. Because hey, let's live in _space!_ The world of no sunshine, no plants, and no cows. He never thought he'd miss cows so much.

The thought of wildlife and a fresh summer breeze made his stomach knot painfully. He really just wanted to go home, to Earth…but there was something here he wasn't sure he could part with.

Lucy Heartfilia.

She was the first thing he saw when he woke up, and—surprisingly—she was what usually crossed his mind before he went to bed. It may be plausible that he had a _minor_ crush on her, but he found himself unable to think of something like that. Whenever he considered liking the blonde, the face of a certain white-haired maiden flashed inside his head—Lisanna, the girl he had been engaged to in that dream.

He sank further down against the wall and laid back on the floor as he contemplated his current situation. He supposed the only way he was to clear his conscience and move on was to finish living out those dreams.

"Natsu, there you are!" a voice called from down the hall. As if on cue, the blonde girl in question showed up above him, smiling at him in that precious way of hers, like the worlds cutest, most innocent doll. Adorable.

"Ah! Luce!" He hadn't been intending to give her a nickname, but he did. He sat up and leaned against the wall again. "Care to join me on the extremely comfy metal floor?" he asked, to which Lucy gratefully took him up on.

"How's work?" Lucy asked casually, to which Natsu shrugged.

"Just working my ass off, you know..."

Lucy leaned her head back, letting it thud lightly against the wall. "Yeah, Hisui can be hard..."

Natsu glanced briefly at her before saying "That explains quite a bit. Knew someone like that couldn't possibly be female."

Silence passed between them, before Lucy looked at him "Eh...?"

Natsu cracked a smile. "You said she could get hard..."

Lucy's eyes widened and she blushed madly, unable to believe Natsu's horribly cheesy and horribly inappropriate joke.

She snapped out of it as Natsu burst out laughing, tears running down his cheeks, which he didn't bother wiping away. "Y-your face—!" he laughed.

Lucy was thinking the same thing as she stared in shock and mild awe. His face, which didn't show much other than annoyance so far, seemed to light up like the sun when he smiled. It warmed all her insides seeing this, and made her happy that he was the one who caused it.

Despite him calling her a weirdo, she didn't find herself minding too much. And even after his laughter died down, his bright smile remained. She couldn't help but smile herself.

 _Natsu...you have such a nice smile..._


	5. Digging Up Roots

**DISCLAIMERS: you think I would be writing Fanfic if I owned FT?**

 **My beta reader is xxIAmTheSkyxx!**

 **Art was done with help by BAMTIZSophie on DeviantArt!**

* * *

 _These scenes were feeling more familiar by the day. Even though he opened his eyes and he was on a train, he vaguely remembered the sight of being sent off by his loved ones. Zeref giving a nonchalant hug that had all the care in the world, even pinching his arm as if warning him, "You better not die."_

 _He remembered Lisanna's eyes, shining with unshed tears, and a tender kiss on the lips before he was whisked away on the train._

 _He winced as his head hurt, struggling to remember why he was on this train, and where it was headed._

 _Suddenly his mind cleared as he remembered—the bandit guild on the edge of town, Sylph Labyrinth._

 _He grasped in his mind, trying to figure out why this was significant to his memory. Was this just a dull train ride, or a life-changing experience?_

 _His body moved as if on its own, as he heard a faint tapping sound on the roof. He looked out the window to his side..._

 _Nothing._

 _He frowned, hearing more tapping and whispering from above, that the other passengers seemed to not hear. With that he stood quickly, rushing to the other side of the train, ignoring the complaints from the man seated by the window there, and he quickly threw it open, stuck his head out, and peered down the sides of the train._

 _At first, he thought there was nothing again, until he saw a faint cloud of dust farther down the left side of the train. One that shouldn't have been there._

 _He narrowed his eyes, noting how cruddy his eyesight used to be, and tried to focus in on the odd cloud racing beside the locomotive. It took a while, almost too long, but he saw it—a horse. With someone on it. Others were racing behind._

 _He pulled back, shouting, "Everyone get down!" just as the roof overhead burst open, allowing entrance to three men, all bearing the Sylph Labyrinth tattoo._

 _He was ready for the fight. His whole life was for this moment. But as soon as he took a step forward, pain rose in his chest, as his heart seemed to go between beating way to fast and way too slow. It felt as if he had lost way too much blood, or as if he had been hanging upside down for way too long. The dizziness took over as he collapsed, his mind going blank, the last thing in his head the image of his worried brother and fiancée._

* * *

It was another nerve-wracking morning for Natsu as he felt he had to slap himself at least twenty times to get himself to calm down.

He had splashed some water on his face to wake himself up, feeling a little surer about himself by the day.

But he found that the more of these dreams he had, the more his thoughts drifted to his white-haired lover from times past. He frowned, knowing the times had obviously changed, but whatever happened to her? Oddly, he found that while he was very curious, he also couldn't bring himself to care too much.

He looked up to his reflection in the mirror, and slowly raised a hand and placed it against the glass. His hair was incredibly messy and dangling over his eyes. If he looked closely enough, he could see that there were glowing flecks of blue in them. As he continued examining his features, he ended up having his attention caught by the shining blue _0_ that seemed much like a birth mark.

 _Or a re-birth mark._

He shivered as a whisper brushed through his thoughts, but decided not to look too much into it. He then turned, grabbed his jacket, and left his room.

He just wasn't sure if he was ready to see what Hisui had for him today...

* * *

"Yes! We have an actual mission~!" Lucy said with glee, practically skipping in front of Natsu to the docking bay, where all the transportation waited to be used for an intergalactic space mission of some sort.

Natsu walked much less enthusiastically behind her, amused at her attitude about the whole thing. He himself wasn't sure he wanted to do this, and see exactly what had become of everything...

"You okay, Natsu?" Lucy asked, and he realized then that he had walked right past her and effortlessly opened the door to the bay, even though it was password-protected. It figured, seeing as since he was becoming more aware, he understood that he was able to commune with any piece of electronic equipment. Or at least, commune more easily.

"It's just that…where we're going...I'm not sure if I want to see it," he said, staring at the shuttle which was to be their ride.

Lucy frowned, and gently set her hand on his shoulder. "Natsu…I don't know what we'll see either, but just know I'm there every step of the way with you." she said softly. She blushed lightly as he turned and took both her hands, his expression closed off and determined. But his facade was slipping more and more each day.

"If something happens, I at least want you to be safe." He gently pressed his lips to her forehead, before turning and climbing in the shuttle, leaving Lucy's face bright red, as she nodded quickly.

She hurried after him and sat next to him in the ship, and his eyes briefly flashed blue as everything began working by itself, and Natsu admittedly felt pretty proud of himself.

"Well, ship..." he started. "Take us home…to Earth."

* * *

Even though Lucy had only seen old movies about it, the whole trip felt like an "awkward car ride"... Even though she never really saw one before.

Lucy was in awe about the new scenery. The tall green grass, fresh air and blue skies, fluffy clouds rolling by without a car, green trees waving at them in the breeze. She took a deep breath, wondering how it was like growing up and living here.

Natsu seemed rather out of it, and Lucy was unsure if he was glad or upset. If she had to pinpoint it, he looked nostalgic, as if he had been in this exact spot before…and maybe he had. But he'd said he didn't remember anything…Lucy brushed a strand of hair behind her ear as she tried to guess what he was thinking, but it was probably nowhere near to the truth.

Natsu started off, stiffening a bit, before he spoke for the first time since they left. "Something's here..." he said softly, treading softly through the lush grass.

In truth Natsu wasn't sure what he felt, but he felt a tug on his heart, as if an old, familiar voice was beckoning him. He dully noted Lucy looking worriedly in his direction, but the need to assure her was shoved aside as he recognized where they were, and he saw an old town, somehow still standing, on the horizon. His whole body tingled as he realized this was the place from his dreams, and it felt like every emotion he felt in his dreams was washing over him at once.

Neither of them noticed the sky darken as he ran off toward it, and Lucy trailed behind him.

"Natsu!" Lucy yelled as she chased after him, and gasped lightly as water dropped on her cheeks. "Rain…" she murmured, before she instantly looked up to Natsu, his pink hair plastered to his face.

He suddenly turned into a house at the front of the town. Lucy followed after him, and bumped immediately into him, as he had stopped just inside the door.

"Wh-what's wrong...?" she asked softly, placing a hand on his shoulder. He flinched under her touch, like he had forgotten she was there, making her start in surprise.

He turned slowly to her, his face tight with overwhelming emotion. "Lucy... I think I came from here…this is…it seems to come to me at night..." He spoke almost desperately, searching her eyes for some kind of response—as if he thought that any other person might find him crazy.

Lucy stilled a bit, before answering, "You…have dreams…?" she asked, trying to piece his words together.

He nodded quickly, before gripping her shoulders, and Lucy nearly jumped as all his emotion tumbled out in one fell swoop, as if this place was his confirmation—his release for the confusion blocking him from the world. "I—I don't understand it all myself, but every night…I—I see things…so many visions, and faces, people…people I…I th-think I loved…but e-every time, it ends in pain…m-my chest hurts really bad, and I don't know what it means…!"

Lucy could see the tears dripping down his cheeks, mingling with the rainwater that had already fallen on his face. Natsu always seemed to let out his emotions all at once, and it finally dawned on her just how scared and confused he actually had been this whole time. He had no idea why he was seeing these weird things, why he could do what he did, who the strange people he kept seeing were...

He didn't know _anything_.

She let out a breath, before reaching up and cupping his cheeks. "Natsu...no matter what, you can talk to me... I will help you figure out who you are, and what your past—"

"Lucy!"

* * *

It was unexpected—but then again, they did get a tad carried away, and it probably would've been wise to take the warning Natsu gave when they first got there more seriously, but nothing could be done as one of those black, shapeless monstrosities was high-tailing it with her in its grasp. She shot it a few dozen times, but of course it helped none.

She flailed a bit, trying to shake free, but it was to no avail.

When she looked into the distance, she wondered where Natsu was, but was shocked to see that the reason he hadn't helped her already was because he had instantly been swarmed by other smaller creatures, and he was obviously working as hard as he could to hurry to her.

As they reached the edge of the town, the thing flung her, and she hit the ground with a thud, prompting her to yelp in pain. She rose to her feet as she rubbed her sore butt.

"Talk about rude," she growled.

She glared and stood tall, feeling determination take over. She may be a gorgeous girl, but she wasn't defenseless. She reached for her gun/light whip that was clipped to her side and held out her weapon, a bright, ropey, whip made of light bursting from it. She flicked it out, and it cut straight through the beast's middle, and as it struggled to reform, she turned and darted off.

She idly wondered if it was a good idea to run this way, for fear of getting lost, but she reassured herself with the thought that Natsu would find her no matter what. With newfound strength, she ran faster, her hair blowing in a long golden stream behind her. Her freedom was short-lived, however, as the monster re-formed in front of her.

Lucy skidded to a stop and used her whip to grab hold of what she assumed to be the beast's leg.

She smiled slightly as an idea came to her. She couldn't kill it like Natsu could, but she could still trap it.

She turned and ran for the village, the thing chasing her, seemingly unaware of her whip still wrapped firmly around its body. Once she reached the town, she set her plan in action. She took a sharp turn into a small alley, and turned another corner, making sure to balance her running to keep up her stamina. As Lucy turned another corner, she winced as she reached a dead end, but then noticed a stack of wooden crates piled against a wall, and instantly used them to climb up the wall, before jumping onto the closest roof.

She caught her breath as the shadow, still being led by her whip, slammed into the wall. Lucy coughed and waved the smoke cloud that rose out of her face, the still-falling rain dissipating the smoke quickly, but Lucy shivered as it began pouring down even harder, obscuring her vision.

The blonde cursed the intensifying rain under her breath. "You have _got_ to be kidding me," she muttered. "I can't see a damn thing!" Lucy quickly covered her mouth as she saw a shadow slink past. She gave her whip a hard yank, and she gasped as it tore from her hands and disappeared. The sound of low growling could be heard from the area around her, but she couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from.

Tentatively, Lucy stepped back as eyes darted around, and shivered slightly thanks to the cold of the rain. She gasped as her foot slipped on the slick-wet roof. It took only seconds for her to hit the edge of the roof, her foot catching on a drain pipe, twisting her ankle in the process. It didn't help that she also happened to land in a mud puddle—and on her arm, also, spraining that as well.

She watched with wide, fearful eyes as the shadow followed her off the roof, looking a little too amused for a faceless mass blob. As it lunged, she winced, and waited for it to strike her down...

…But the blow never came.

She opened her eyes to see the thing trying the hurry away from something, but before it could, a bright light—Natsu—flew in from the corner of her vision. He landed in a crouched position in another spot of mud, adding to the mud already splattered all over his boots and black pants, and even a bit on his arms and face. His white sleeve wasn't as lucky though, as it was nearly covered in the stuff.

It only took a second for him to spring up—his eyes and the edging on his clothes and the stamped _0_ on his cheek alight, and rip through the shadowy energy mass. With a slight _hiss_ , it melted away into the wind and rain, leaving Natsu standing there breathing heavily, his vest ripped and his mud-covered hair plastered to his face. He slowly looked back at her as the blue glow in his eyes disappeared, returning to their original bright green color.

He cracked a smile and said, "You should see yourself. You look ridiculous."

Lucy closed her eyes with a sigh, her heartbeat quickening—but no longer from fear or adrenaline. "You, too."

* * *

Natsu grimaced as he turned the faucet on yet another sink, which—yet again—didn't yield even a drop of water.

Lucy sighed, and ran a hand through her matted and muddy hair, face twisting in disgust. "Geez, I just want a bath…but there's no clean water anywhere."

Natsu sighed, and rubbed a spot of dried mud off his cheek, before turning back to face her. "Guess we'll have to look elsewhere...there's no way I'll be able to sleep until I get cleaned up..."

Lucy followed, nodding in agreement as she tried to remember if she'd seen any water source before—then she blinked. Was her vision was blurring, or was Natsu really swaying?

Her question was answered as he suddenly dropped to the ground while gripping his head, clutching what appeared to be a photograph that he'd taken off the top of a dresser.

"Natsu—!" Lucy cried out. She made it over to him just as he lost consciousness, and the photograph slipped out of his hand. Lucy's eyes widened at the sight of the old black and white picture printed on it.

It was a photograph taken of a petite white-haired girl holding onto someone. That someone looked suspiciously like Natsu Dragneel.

She frowned, but decided it would be best to get him in bed—and maybe ask him about the picture later.


	6. Calm Before The Storm

**DISCLAIMER: All ideas for this story are my own. And the outfits are original designs by me!**

 **Thanks to BAMITZSophie for helping with the picture!**

 **And a bigger thanks to XXIAmTheSkyXX for beta-reading this! And saying such nice things about it :3**

* * *

 _His heart was still pounding from his last little heart attack, even though 'little' was an extreme understatement. His head was pounding and his vision was blurry as people, both innocent and malicious, rushed around him._

 _He managed to stand up, his nose stinging from the harsh smells of smoke and gun powder. Were they trying to blow up the-?_

 _The thought was barely finished when a loud explosion was heard farther down the train, which was probably the engine. The explosion was so violent that not only was everyone inside knocked into the nearest object (for Natsu it was a window, which shattered as his head hit it), but he felt the whole train tilt, before derailing and go skidding off onto the ground, dust and dirt raising up to block most visibility._

 _Natsu managed to stand, gripping his head, which was still stinging from his collision with the window. His eyes widened when he realized he was feeling something wet. Shakily, he pulled his hand back to see it covered in his own crimson blood._

 _He wasn't really one for being queasy, but as the dust settled, and he stared at the unbelievable catastrophe before him, he felt like he was about to throw up, or faint, or possibly both. Which frankly seemed rather disgusting._

 _People lay all over in pools of blood, and he felt a mixture of anger and sadness well up in him. And with a yell of anger, he grabbed some stray cloth to temporarily bandage his wound on his head, before turning to face the thieves guild that still stood there, grinning mockingly._

 _"You shoulda stayed in the hospital, like the injured little weakling you are" One of them said cockily, and Natsu found memories of the people he loved surfacing in his head... Zeref and Lisanna... But then, he felt like someone was missing... someone he cared about to no end..._

 _He clenched his fists tightly, growling as all the sadness, fear, hurt, apprehension, and guilt, turned into untapped rage that felt like it was turning his blood into fire._

 _"I told them... I'd come back alive..." he snarled out, and Natsu inwardly gasped as he suddenly realized he wan't in control anymore. The voice that spoke, while it was his, it wasn't him speaking. It was a different him. A him from the past. "I told them... Lisanna... My brother... That I'd succeed. And kicking your ass is in that job description!"_

 _And then he charged forward, before the scenery disappeared into blackness._

* * *

Lucy had been sitting by Natsu's bedside, waiting for him to awake from whatever nightmare he was having, when he finally violently woke up, pushing himself off the mattress so hard their foreheads collided.

A groan of pain echoed from the two adults, as they rubbed their heads, which were now red from impact. The pain for Lucy was quickly replaced by joy, at the sight of Natsu standing up, and looking around. He still had dirt and mud caked on him from their last battle. While Lucy had found a place to clean herself up, Natsu on the other hand, had been unconscious for almost a week. And what a frightening week it was. Not in the fact that Lucy was under constant attack, but she was just worrying over Natsu.

"You're finally awake...!" Lucy said, pushing herself off the ground, before she flung herself into Natsu, who looked very confused.

He stumbled back a bit, but managed to hold his ground under the impact "L-Lucy! Wh-What..?" He never fished his sentence, but trailed off into silence, a confused and slightly worried expression painted across his face.

Lucy pulled back enough to see his face, before smiling even wider "Well you've been asleep for a week-... What are you doing?"

What indeed, as in the middle of her sentence Natsu just pulled his shirt off, before patting down his chest as if something were missing "That's... Odd...?" He murmured, and Lucy scoffed at that, ignoring the reddening of her cheeks.

"I'll say! Who just strips randomly like that?!" She paused "Well, except for Gray."

"No! Not that!" He said almost frantically, "M-My heart... It's... Not hurting..."

Lucy blinked, momentarily confused, until her eyes widened in realization that everyday since Natsu had woken up, he would be in agonizing pain. But for some reason, today he wasn't.

Slowly, she took his hand, and smiled softly at him "Why don't we go get you washed up, and then you can tell me all about it, ok?"

* * *

Natsu shivered as he stepped into the cold pool of water. From the looks of it, it was identical to the small lake from his dreams. It looked vastly different in the day, but it still reflected the sky perfectly, like the worlds most beautiful oil painting.

He was shaken out of his thoughts at the sound of Lucy's voice from somewhere nearby, calling, "I've cleaned your clothes and I'm putting them right here!" which also harshly reminded him that Lucy was nearby, waiting for him, as he stood in this pool of water completely naked.

Heat pooled in his cheeks, and he instinctively sunk further into the water, hoping she didn't see anything he wouldn't have wanted her seeing. Of course that doesn't mean she didn't see him naked either.

"So, wanna talk about it then...?" Lucy said, more softly this time.

Natsu cringed at the thought of his dream. The toppled train, and blood-stained dirt, and that horrible empty feeling... But he wanted to share with Lucy. He wanted to share his thoughts, ideals, dreams, aspirations, he wanted to share with her more than he had with anyone else, even in his dreams. The girl his head told him that he loved, Lisanna, seemed farther away from his heart with each passing day, as he grew more fond of the perky blonde who had faithfully stuck by his side.

He eventually sighed, cupping some water in his palms, and watching it trickle between the cracks in his fingers. "Well, it wasn't pretty..." He started. He could hear Lucy shift from beyond the brush, probably surprised to hear him speak. Natsu cleared his throat and continued.

"Well, I was... on a train, heading off to fight somewhere... even though I shouldn't have..." he said quietly. ' _they warned me'_ he thought, sadly. "It was attacked by bandits... and things went wrong... people died, so many innocent people..." He separated his hands, letting the water fall into the larger pool, before abruptly turning to face where he knew Lucy was. "But as soon as I tried engaging the attackers, I thought of the people I cared about, and that cared about me... But when I did I felt like I wasn't in control anymore, like I was pushed out of my own body." He finished firmly, unknowing of his red-tinted cheeks.

There was a silence between the two, before Lucy answered, "Who were the people you cared about? Do you know any..." another pause "Names... Faces... Genders...?"

 _'Is she agitated?'_ Natsu wondered, from the tone in her voice "Two people, actually... My fiance, or ex fiance, I should say..." He decided to get out of the water before finishing, "And my bro-..." He paused as he caught a glimpse of Lucy beyond the treeline, banging her head against a tree furiously.

"... Lucy? Are you ok?" He asked worriedly

She jumped in response, before whipping around, and laughing nervously "O-Of course! I'm just, uh..." She stumbled over her sentences and covered the big red spot on her forehead.

Natsu couldn't help but grin at this, which quickly turned into a laugh "D-Don't tell me you're jealous of a dead girl!"

"N-Nooooo...!"

* * *

Lucy pouted the entire walk back, while Natsu teased her relentlessly, and called her a weirdo. She was aggravated, sure, but she still had to suppress a smile at how much more alive he felt than yesterday _'I'm glad you're able to laugh freely like this, Natsu...'_ She thought to herself, cheeks turning the slightest shade of pink.

Natsu stopped walking suddenly, his shoulders tense. He slowly turned back to look at her, uncertainty flashing across his features. He looked rather mysterious in the canopy shade of the forest path they walked along. His features were tight on his face, looking like he was questioning himself before he spoke "Lucy... Zeref is in important person right...?" He finally said, voice hoarse.

Lucy blinked. Did he not know how important he was? "Well yeah! He was the one who made the first space station! He made our lives in space possible!" she said immediately, and a little defensively as well.

Natsu scratched his cheek nervously, as if not sure where he was going with this, before he finally answered; "Zeref... I think I'm related to him."

There was a moment of silence as Lucy registered what exactly Natsu had said to her. Zeref was a legend, practically, from centuries back! How on earth could he be related to him?! Then an even more shocking revelation hit her. How had he lived on earth when people had been living in space for near 200 years. He even had a picture of him here, with a girl at his side looking completely and totally... in love. But that means he'd have to had been 200 years old! Man, she could be slow with this stuff...

"Natsu... That's..." She started, unable to really find words.

"Crazy?" Natsu interrupted, laughing slightly, and Lucy looked up to see him looking at her, smiling softly. "I know it's strange, and I'm not sure what happened yet, or why I'm... Even here..." He continued, grabbing her hands tightly, and Lucy felt her insides melt, feeling his large, warm, hands grasp hers. "But as the days continue I find myself dreading what I'll see..." Lucy felt his grip tighten, and her heart dropped as she realized his hands were shaking ever so slightly.

Lucy looked up to meet his eyes, to see them gleaming with un-shed tears. "Natsu, no matter what it is you see, I'll always be here when wake..." She said gently, and placed a soft kiss on his nose. When she pulled back, she saw his eyes were no longer gleaming, but his face was now a complete and total bright red.

"TH-TH-THANK YOU, LUCY. I-I MEAN I-...!" He stumbled over all his words, stumbling physically as well, and he tripped and fell on his back, still as flustered as before, and even covered his face with his hands from sheer embarrassment.

Lucy giggled lightly and reached a hand out to him, "C'mon, lets go contact Levy!"

* * *

"Oh my..." Levy's voice echoed from the receiver, and Natsu could see the worry lines between her brows as she stared at him. He shifted uncomfortably under her gaze, feeling as if she could see through his soul, finding every flaw in him. Ever since he woke up he had the small fear in the back of his mind that if he wasn't good enough, or did what they wanted, they would get rid of him instantly. He didn't like following these ruthless orders, but his skin crawled at the thought of being abandoned.

"Levy, what do we do...? If he can remember anything..." Lucy paused, glancing back at him worriedly, but Natsu simply shook his head, an indication to saying anything about what he had told her.

She swallowed and turned back. "So?"

Levy had turned to talk with Gajeel, who was stood behind her, with a grave, unreadable expression. After they talked for a few minutes, all of it out of earshot to the boy and girl on the other side of the device, Levy turned around, and gave her answer. "Okay, the best option... is for you to return to where you found him... Space Station 1.0, where Zeref himself lived."

And then Natsu felt his stomach drop more than it ever had before.

"Guess we better get started..." he ground out from between his teeth, and turned to leave for the field they landed in. For some reason, he felt he was going to hate what he found there.


	7. Last Eternal Breath

"This place is cruddier than I thought," Natsu said with a grimace.

They had made it to the space station after a few hours of travel—which Natsu had gotten sick of relatively quickly, for he found himself growing ever more restless as the days passed. From day one, he'd felt like he was only partially there, just floating along and trying to follow along with everyone else. Everything was just barely there, and he'd just listened to others because he didn't know any better.

But now, he felt more alive than ever. His mind raced with questions at the same time his heart pounded with nervousness in anticipation of what he would find out, and it excited him to no end now that he was faced with such uncertainty.

"You look happier than I expected," Lucy noted suddenly from beside him, the corner of her mouth twitched up in a smile.

Natsu instantly felt flustered at her comment. "Wh-whadd'ya mean?" he asked defensively, fiddling with his left sleeve.

Lucy giggled and shook her head. "Never mind…anyway, we're supposed to find clues here, so maybe checking where I first found you would be good?"

Natsu felt his expression tighten at the thought of it. That was where he was first found…in a glass pod, like some kind of…some kind of _alien_. There had been many times that he did feel like one, and finally understanding that he was most definitely not one-hundred percent human didn't make him feel much better. He felt his morale drop at the thought, but he knew there wasn't much of a choice. If this would tell him about his past, and Lisanna, and Zeref, and possibly even save many lives, what other choice did he have?

"It was this way." Lucy's firm voice cut through his clouding thoughts, and the blonde hand turned a shard right up ahead.

Natsu set his jaw and sprinted after her. No matter what it was he would be seeing, he wasn't going to see it alone. He had his dear friend with him, and he swore on his feeble life—human or not—that he would keep her safe.

* * *

 _ **-Station 13 F.T.-**_

Hisui was in a good mood today. Oh, yes; today was special. It was because finally, after years of cowering in fear, she would finally take revenge for all the lives lost—her family and friends all ruined by these pesky otherworldly beings—thanks to the last creation Zeref left behind. An artificial life, which was the only one capable of fighting back.

She was snapped out of her thoughts as Levy entered the room, holding a file of papers. Ever since Lucy returned from her latest mission, Levy had been tasked with sorting through all the documents Lucy had brought back from Zeref's lab. So far it had mostly been notes on his inventions, some blueprints, and so on. Surprisingly, there didn't appear to be any notes on the mysterious boy contained in his space station.

The look on the small girl's face now, however, told Hisui their luck was about to change.

"Levy," Hisui said, "what is the matter?"

Levy raced up to the desk, pulling out a notebook and slamming it on the desk before speaking. "Sir Zeref's notebook, ma'am," she reported, flipping quickly to the last page of said book. "Please read this!"

Hisui raised a brow in question before taking the book, lifting it to eye level, and reading it aloud:

 _"It's far too late to speak of all the mistakes I've made. To try and fix what I have done._

 _Mavis warned me, but I was so wrought with despair and sorrow that I couldn't think rationally_ _for all humanity. I was selfish. But time is running out, and we haven't much hope left._

 _If anyone is to find this, I want you to not fear the dangers. Even if I die, I will not leave you defenseless._

 _I am still unsure how long it will be before he will be ready, or when he will even be found._

 _When he wakes, that's when the final act shall begin. I will be waiting to be found, somewhere even they_ _can't find me. I will explain all I can, and I will fix my errors. Please, forgive me, Mavis._

 _I never could have foreseen this calamity. And I wish you a long, prosperous life, without me._

 _\- Z"_

* * *

 _ **-Space Station 1 Alverez-**_

Natsu couldn't shake the feeling that they were in the wrong place. Lucy insisted on shuffling through papers while Natsu checked out all the gadgets, the walls, and anything electronic for hidden clues. Sadly, nothing seemed to be out of the norm, and he was left standing around while Lucy thoroughly checked every nook and cranny of the place.

Lucy muttered something about dust while something against the far wall caught Natsu's eye. A giant tube erecting from the floor to the ceiling, with a giant hole smashed through the glass. He frowned and stepped forward to look at it more closely, ignoring the nagging in his head that was trying to convince him he was some kind of mutant creature. He vaguely heard Lucy approach him from behind, as he rested a hand delicately on the shattered glass.

The nagging turned into a gnawing that began to eat at his heart—the same gnawing he felt each time before he keeled over with immense pain. That should've been warning enough to back away from it, but while his head was telling him _No_ (and it was telling him this very strongly), his heart was telling him that he needed to experience whatever was about to happen.

 _"Natsu…"_

Natsu yelped, jumping back at the odd voice, before speaking up.

"Wh-Who's there?!" he cried out, eyes darting every which way. Lucy, on the other hand, looked seriously concerned for his health, which he couldn't really blame her for.

"Natsu…there's no one here besides me," she said gently, as if she was trying to politely say, _Your horse just died._

He stared at her quizzically before claiming, "No…someone called me…I _definitely_ heard it!" He then began kicking out the rest of the glass which was encasing his previous home, as it were.

"Natsu, wait—!" Lucy said, trying to reach for him, but he yanked away from her touch, stepping inside the pod-like structure.

"No, I heard him! I know this voice!" he insisted, searching frantically for the source of the voice. He knew this voice. It was one he heard frequently—one that had told him stories, soothed him, joked with him, argued with him. This voice had always there!

He wasn't sure why he felt so emotional over hearing it, exactly, but the yank in his heart was telling him, _You need to find him NOW_ —and who would he be to object with himself? So he proceeded to do what any normal half-human, half-machine would do in this situation—he reared his arm back and punched a hole in the wall while screaming like a brat.

Not his most dignified moment, for sure, but it worked.

"Natsu—th-this is…!"

Natsu expected Lucy to scold him for being so reckless, but as he examined the hole he'd just punched into the wall, his eyes widened in realization.

There was a whole other room here.

Lights suddenly flickered by themselves—without Natsu's help—and the faint whirring of machinery could be heard from within the walls. A small _click_ sounded, and a bright light emitted from the center of the room, like a projector (admittedly, while Natsu hadn't known what a projector was two days ago, his knowledge on technology had grown as he interacted with more things).

The light started to take shape—the shape of a human…a very familiar human, with kind dark eyes and a gentle smile. He looked exactly the way Natsu remembered him from his dreams.

"B-brother…"

Zeref smiled sweetly at the two standing before his holographic form. "Natsu…I—I never thought I'd get to see you again... I would cry if I still had tear ducts, but for now, I must explain…and apologize."

Lucy was horribly lost to the whole situation, and had been standing with her mouth agape for a good five minutes. "S-So wait... _you're_ Zeref…? B-but...you died!"

The man winced at her words. "Ehh…I did, but I didn't," he said. "As the Etherious beings attacked this station, I fused a portion of my life force with some of the ethernano and placed it in the walls of this station." He was explaining all this while staying rather straight-faced, despite how ridiculous-sounding his statement was. "I'd been biding my time, waiting for Natsu to awaken after centuries of mending him, so that way, I could explain…"

Natsu felt his heart clench at the word _mend_ before it began to race like it seemed to enjoy doing. "Wh-what do you…then you can explain these visions?!" he demanded, moving closer to his brother's form. "All these things I see! What are they?! Who is Lisanna?! What happened to me?! What happened to my home?! _Tell me what I am!_ " he screamed, louder than even he expected. He didn't even notice the wetness that now was now trailing down his cheeks.

Zeref frowned, as if debating what to tell him, before finally speaking.

"Okay, I will tell you everything," he began, catching the attention of both Natsu and Lucy, who both stared fixedly at the inventor's incorporeal body.

"Natsu, you are my younger brother. You were born in the year 1870, on the first of summer—thus why you were granted the name _Natsu_. You always had a sunny disposition, and you always wanted to protect the people you loved. But fate was not on your side, as you had been born with a serious heart condition. Our doctors were not skilled enough back then to give a proper diagnosis and treatment, and there was no cure…so you were left to suffer through immense pain every day.

As you got older, you were able to hide it better, but at the same time, your condition worsened. And in spite of your horrid health, you insisted on protecting us anyway and left to fight…and a few days after you left, Lisanna and I had received word that you had perished in an ambush. We were wrought with distress at the news, but…they were wrong. You alone had not only survived, but had managed to fight off your foes in the process before walking across a wasteland—"

Natsu suddenly felt his heart throb painfully in his chest, and he crumpled to his knees, crying out in pain. He could vaguely hear Lucy yelling about something, and Zeref's worried tone, but everything was being blocked out. "S…Sto…p…!" he choked out to whatever entity was having it out for him. "Stop…!"

The pain he was feeling was worse than anything else he had ever felt. His heart was beating a million miles a minute, and his skin was burning up. He felt sweat trail down his face, and his eyes widened in terror as images began to flash in his mind's eye, showing him scenes his body did _not_ want to see.

It wasn't long before he succumbed to the visions dancing in his head.

* * *

 _He was hot, sweaty, and aching all over, but when his town finally came into view, his heart leapt up in his throat out of sheer joy. Unable to wait any longer, he raced through the streets, making a beeline for the person he loved most—Lisanna._

 _Her house was at the other end of town, but he would run any distance to see that smiling face again._

 _Yeah…any distance._

 _His mind suddenly blanked out when he saw her at the end of the long dirt road that ran through the center of the town. He saw her there, but with another man. He didn't even try to register who the man was, because it didn't matter anymore. He watched as the love of his life stood up on tiptoes to kiss him on the lips._

 _Exactly like she would do with him._

 _He didn't think—hell, he_ couldn't _think—before turning and leaving, as fast as he could. He didn't know where, he didn't know why—all he knew was that the one bright spot in his life was now gone. Any other person would just say she "moved on" because everyone thought he was dead. But he'd barely been gone for a week! He didn't know what he had been expecting, exactly, but maybe having her be actually sad about his death probably would've helped._

 _Before Natsu knew it, he was standing in front of the lake. Fireflies danced over its surface as both his head and heart raced. Natsu then felt his heart clench suddenly in agonizing pain—he gasped, falling to his knees. Time seemed to have sped up around him, and he couldn't tell what was happening. It scared him to know end._

Keep it together Natsu… _he tried to tell himself, like he always did._ What would they think if—

 _An image of Lisanna with another guy, smiling and having a good time, flashed through his head, and everything scattered._

 _The pain of heartbreak intensified the burden already on his heart. He felt so angry…sad…betrayed. He sat there on his knees, shaking violently, trying to hold in these pent-up feelings brewing inside of him._

 _But he couldn't._

 _"DAMN IT ALLLLL!" he screamed as loud as he could. Before he'd realized it, he found himself rolled up, crying, and trying his hardest to keep his breathing even…which is difficult to do when crying._

 _His breaths were getting shorter, and the pain grew with each passing second. Was this going to be it? Was he going to die here, alone...?_

 _"NATSU!" Another voice suddenly intruded, and Natsu felt himself being raised up into someone's arms. This person felt warm and familiar…his vision was so blurred with pain he couldn't properly see this person's face. The mere thought made him cry even more._

 _"N-Natsu, I heard your scream, and I—o-oh God, Natsu…I—I thought you were dead…!"_

… _That's right…he remembered this voice…it was his dear brother._

 _Natsu swallowed the lump in his throat and tried his best to smile through the pain. He made a guess as to where Zeref's face was, and he slowly reached up to put his hand on his cheek._

 _"Y-you never change_ _…_ _always fussing over me—" He paused as he started coughing violently, and he realized that he had coughed up blood when the familiar smell of it hit his nostrils. He then felt wetness dripping onto his face, and he realized then that Zeref was crying._

 _"I—I can't see you properly right now…but don't be so sad…" he managed to say through his nonexistent breath, his voice hoarse._

 _The wetness began to fall on his face more rapidly, and he could hear the sounds of his brother sobbing, his words barely a whisper, "N-Natsu…I—I love you so much…I—I should have done a better job protecting you…!"_

 _"Y-you, too…brother…"_

 _And that was the last breath Natsu Dragneel took before entering his eternal slumber._

* * *

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Lucy jumped away from the hunched-over boy, who had been silent for about thirty minutes but was now screaming in what seemed to be terrible pain. "Natsu, what's—?!" She was cut short as he suddenly reached out and desperately clung to her half-skirt, crying his beautiful eyes out—and the sight of it just about broke Lucy's soul.

" _MAKE IT STOP! PLEASE; I'M BEGGING YOU!_ " he cried, and Lucy's instincts kicked in—she knelt beside him, holding him tightly against herself. She stroked his hair gently, not paying attention to the shocked Zeref behind her.

"I—I hurt…s-so much…!" Natsu sobbed, and Lucy hummed in understanding.

"I know," she said as soothingly as possible. "You're in pain, and you don't understand quite what's happening, or why you're here now…but I'm here, and no matter what, I won't leave you…"

Her heart hurt so much for him. She wanted to take away this pain of his so badly, but knew she lacked the ability. _Natsu…please know just how much I love you,_ she thought, biting her lip in anticipation as Natsu finally went still in her arms.

A few seconds passed, and suddenly, he stood, looking more fierce and determined than ever. Sadness still lingered in his eyes—showing that he definitely still wasn't any better than he had been a few seconds ago.

"Brother," he spoke firmly. "Please tell me what I need to do, so I can protect her."

Lucy tried to not blush madly, but failed, as Zeref smirked in response, and answered, "The Etherious are angry because I misused their energy. Humans aren't meant for space; they never were…nor were they meant to be resurrected. So as long as you live, the meteor they originated from will keep homing in on your position, and it will put everyone around you in danger."

The blonde tensed, hoping she wasn't telling his brother that he'd been brought back from the dead only to just kill himself again.

"However," he continued, "you disappearing won't appease them, either. They want to destroy humanity. You are the only one capable of stopping them. Please, dear brother…do what you were born to do…and protect these humans."

There was a silence between the two, as Natsu seemed to be registering what Zeref had just said—all of human life was at stake, and he was their only hope. That had to be a heavy burden to carry alone.

But slowly, he raised his hand to touch the ever-present glowing _0_ on his cheek, and grinned. "Of course! I'll do everything I can!" he declared firmly.

Lucy noticed something shine against his cheek, which brought her a revelation.

 _A_ _h…he's sad…_

"Natsu, my little brother…my time is up." Zeref started talking again, his soft smile ever-present, as he reached out a holographic hand to his younger sibling. "But know that I love you more than anything in this universe…you are my last gift to humanity…" Natsu reached up as well, his fingertips brushing against those of his nonexistent family member.

"Live, Natsu Dragneel…"

Zeref smiled widely as he faded, the machines shutting down.

"Live…Project Number Zero…"


	8. Star Wars: The Lost Reference

Lucy had been genuinely shocked at how much Natsu's behavior had changed since they returned to Fairy Tail. He seemed less confused and more human, with purpose. The determined gleam in his eye hadn't left him since he had spoken with his long-passed brother.

As soon as they stepped out of the ship and their feet touched the familiar cool metals of the floor, Levy and Gray were there waiting for them—and they began to ask them a million questions.

"Did you learn anything?"

"What did you see?"

"Does Natsu remember?"

After a few minutes of them being unable to get a word out, Natsu let out an exasperated sigh and slammed his fist into the wall as he yelled, "SHUT UP!"

The room went silent and Natsu took a deep breath, pushing through them. "Look, we don't have a lot of time, so everyone just shut up and listen to me for a second," he stated firmly.

Any other person would say he was exuding confidence, but Lucy could tell from the way his clenched fists shook that he was scared and sad.

"Everyone on this station is in danger—massive danger," he said, he voice of confidence spreading over the room like a wave as they all followed him, marching to Hisui's office.

But while everyone else was feeding off his confidence he was putting on display, Lucy couldn't get the image of Natsu kneeling on the floor, sobbing, and clutching at her like she was all he had left out of her mind.

But that was the saddest part—because, effectively, she was.

She wished to reach out and grab his trembling hand, but for some reason she couldn't muster the courage. Right when she started reaching for his hand, she was startled by a loud _thud_ as he kicked the doors in.

"Hisui!" he snapped, the green haired girl standing instantly.

"Dragneel, what on Earth do you—" he began, but she was cut off by Natsu.

"I get the sentiment behind that, but we aren't really _on_ Earth anymore—and see; that's exactly the reason why we're all screwed," he said, the snark plain in his voice.

Hisui narrowed her eyes at him, as if trying to decide if he was pulling some kind of trick or not.

"What are you getting at?" she asked in a steely tone.

A growl ripped from Natsu's throat, and he slammed his hands on Hisui's desk. "Humans were never meant to live in space!" he yelled, pointing to the big window behind her. "Why would you even _want_ to? It's boring as fuck, and it doesn't even have cows!"

That threw Hisui for a loop. She probably hadn't expected the topic of cows to intrude in the conversation.

"It was what Sir Zeref wished for us!" Hisui retorted, her face only a few inches from Natsu's.

"No! He didn't! He just wanted to further his research on life! So he could bring _me_ back! How would anyone think it's okay to live in space?!" he argued vehemently. Everyone else in the room was just watching the scene unfold with wide eyes. "Humans are—we are so, _so_ fragile! We can't step out in that without freezing to death, imploding, and suffocating—all at once! Maybe that should've been a sign of _'Hmm, maybe we shouldn't be here'_?!"

Natsu was definitely livid; anyone could see that. Lucy could almost see his eyes spark blue in the middle of practically screaming at their captain.

The room fell silent after that. No one had a good argument against his words, and others were probably surprised and/or shocked to find out Natsu was dead at one point.

Slowly, Lucy made her way across the room, to Natsu's side. She craved to just put a hand on his shoulder, take his hand, pat his head— _something_ to make him feel better. But she couldn't get her hand to move.

"So..." Gray began uncertainly, prompting everyone to look at him, "Natsu was dead?"

The room went silent once more. Soon it was broken—this time with a soft but exhausted laughter from Natsu.

"Yes," he sighed, running a hand through his spiky hair. "I was dead at one point…" He shook his head as he continued, all the anger having gone from his voice, "But anyway—look, the Etherious are attracted to me, pretty much, and a giant ball of that crap is heading straight for this station as we speak. If we don't do anything, it _will_ kill you all."

"So…we're doomed, then?" Levy's quiet voice came, worry laced in it. It made Lucy feel sympathy for her small friend.

"Not exactly..." Natsu said, looking like he was thinking hard about something. "First, Levy, you go find Gajeel, tell him to get to the engine room and put up a magnetic barrier around the station—match it up with the magnetic signals coming from the Etherious particles you have, so that it'll repel the giant thing and give us time." He raised his hand and gesturing to the group as a sign for everyone to follow him.

Levy broke off from the group to go find Gajeel and relay Natsu's orders, while the other three followed closely behind him—even Hisui, who despite their spat before was listening to his instructions closely.

"Hisui, you have the most influence here, so I need you to gather everyone up and explain the situation in full detail," Natsu continued . "If they argue, tell them these are direct orders from Zeref. Whatever it takes to get them to shut up and listen."

Hisui gave a curt nod and turned to go and do as she was instructed without a single complaint.

Natsu turned to Gray. "I need you to bring me some things," he stated. "I'm going to take over the bay and turn it into a safe room for everyone to hide in when this thing arrives. Only I can hurt it, so I don't want any heroics from anyone, okay?" He took the clipboard Gray had been holding and scribbled something on it before handing it back to him. "Bring me everything on that list."

Gray looked peeved about being bossed around, but left nonetheless, grumbling about "stupid zombie machines bossing him around".

Lucy blinked as Natsu turned and entered the docking bay and began working without giving Lucy a second glance. She felt her heart clench as her mind began overthinking the situation.

"Natsu…what can I do…?" she asked uncertainly, fiddling with the luminescent hem of her shorts.

Natsu froze, and Lucy noticed his shoulders were shaking violently. Lucy stepped forward "Nats—"

She stopped as he turned to her—and she saw tears in his eyes and an obviously forced smile on his face. "Just stay by me…?" he managed.

Lucy gave him a soft smile of her own—and finally mustered up enough courage to take his hand, which was clenched tightly at his side.

"I'll always stay by you," she murmured, and he gripped her hand tightly.

"Thank you, Lucy..."

* * *

Gajeel had done as Natsu had instructed. They had another twenty-four hours before impact, and Lucy finally talked Natsu into getting some rest. So, reluctantly, he left his work and went to his room, parting with Lucy as she entered her room next to it.

Natsu went to take a shower, first and foremost—but afterward, he just sat on his bed and stared blankly at his reflection, eyeing the mark on his cheek.

Ever since he remembered everything, his chest stopped hurting and he didn't feel empty anymore…but at the same time, he couldn't recognize himself. He was much more different than he was in his previous life, and he didn't know how to feel about it.

He wished he could just go back to Earth with Lucy and just stay there, together. Their time in the village had been short, but the way she managed the upkeep on the small house they stayed in…he couldn't help but think how amazing she'd be as a—

Natsu's thoughts were interrupted at the sound of a knock on his door. His thoughts instantly went to Lucy, but he was disappointed when Hisui was standing in front of him.

"Dragneel...I stopped by the docking bay to see what you were doing exactly, and it's...off," she said. "What exactly are you planning? And what are you not telling us?"

* * *

Lucy was startled awake by the whole station shaking. All the alarms were blaring and the red emergency lights were the only things illuminating the station. She quickly leapt up, ran out of her room, and followed everyone who was rushing down the hall.

"Everyone, hurry; there isn't much time!" she heard Hisui yell as she directed everyone toward the docking bay, where Natsu had been working tirelessly on the safe room.

She did as she was told and headed there as well, hoping to see Natsu there. She was proven right, and managed to spot him just beyond the chaos of people rushing around.

He was fiddling with the panel right outside the door, his expression so serious that it was as if it was made of stone.

"Natsu!" she yelled, reaching his side. "What's happening?! I thought we had more time!"

His expression was grim, emphasized by the wry smile on his face. "Me too, so that's why I gotta do some last minute tweaking," he muttered. "But this…will keep you safe."

Lucy saw his eyes shine with emotion—one she couldn't place a name to, and suddenly she felt chills run down her spine. What was Natsu planning, exactly?

"Lucy! Hurry!" Levy yelled from inside the room. "We'll die if we don't hurry!"

Lucy nodded and turned to leave, but she was stopped as a hand grasped her wrist. She turned, seeing Natsu's face, clouded with too many emotions that she couldn't read.

He just stared at her, gripping her like he never wanted to let go, ignoring the shouts of people around them, and everything else seemed to go quiet as he muttered, "Forgive me" and then pushed her into the room, before pushing a button, closing the doors.

Lucy gasped as the whole room shook, and everyone began panicking—but they all quieted as Hisui's shout broke through the noise.

"Enough! All is going according to his plan!" she said loudly, pointing to the door. "He is doing the only thing he can to save us—sending us back to Earth, where we belong!"

All other sound was drowned out by Lucy's hammering heart. They were going? Without him? What would happen to him? These questions and more swam around in her head as she bolted to the door, banging on it with all her might as tears flowed down her red cheeks.

"Natsu!" she screamed "Please; don't do this! You won't be able to get back!"

A soft melancholy laugh played through on the intercom into the room. "I know, Lucy. But I'm technically not even supposed to—"

" _Bullshit!_ " Lucy yelled, silencing him. "You're alive _now_ for a _reason!_ Many others lost their lives for you to live now! So make the most out of your second chance, damn it!" She cursed, her pounding on the metal door growing weaker.

She couldn't know for sure, but she was almost positive that Natsu was right on the other side. She could tell that this wasn't what he really wanted.

"Please…" she choked out between her sobs. "I love you…!"

"I know," came Natsu's voice from the other side of the door this time—he probably didn't want the whole station to hear.

Lucy managed a bitter laugh. "Now you're quoting Star Wars on me…?"

More silence. "Lucy, I'll be completely honest with you…I have no idea what that is," Natsu stated bluntly after a moment.

Lucy laughed, wiping her eyes. "Then stay alive…so we can watch it together one day," she murmured, and closed her eyes, trying to stop the tears as the escape-pod-turned docking bay detached from the station.

Lucy felt her heart detach from her body at the same time, Natsu's last words running through her head like a prayer.

"One day..."


	9. The Second Sun

Natsu stared out into the black expanse of space as part of the station detached, letting Lucy's final pleas running through his head over and over.

He held his breath on instinct upon the oxygen of the station being sucked out into the fierce blackness, but once he released it, he was perfectly fine. As he'd suspected, the ethernano in his veins kept the vacuum of space from hurting him. He also noticed that he seemed be unaffected by the loss of gravity, which kept him from floating out through the gaping hole in the wall.

Natsu silently apologized to Lucy before he turned on his heel and ran down the hall—towards the hull of the ship. The giant mass of Etherious seemed to be tugging at his blood, almost pulling him there, and he didn't doubt it was the Etherious in his body resonating with the source.

Natsu stopped as he reached the front of the station. The hull was an intimidating room, in that it was a big circular glass room, built for the purpose of navigation. Just standing in it gave Natsu serious vertigo, and the sickening feeling grew as the buzzing of energy in his body stopped.

He narrowed his eyes, closely observing the darkness just beyond the glass. His whole body was practically screaming at him that the mass was _here_ —but there was nothing to be seen.

A huge amount of pressure suddenly collided with his back, throwing him against the glass wall which made it crack under his weight. He whirled around and his eyes widened as he observed small, practically invisible particles seemingly pulling together and slowly morphing into a big black and smoky mass that nearly filled the whole room.

And he hadn't been bluffing when he'd observed the room as _big_.

Natsu's brow twitched, a bead of sweat rolling down his face. If he were to even try and say he wasn't terrified, he'd have been telling the biggest lie he'd ever told. Just standing in the presence of this…mass of sheer power was enough to make him tremble. But of course, he never gained anything from sitting and staring, had he?

He had just made to step forward when the whole room shattered. His mind was screaming bloody murder as he fell straight through the black expanse. Natsu winced, as shards of broken glass sliced his neck and cheek.

"Shit!" he cursed, placing a hand on his bleeding face, the sting distracting him from the smoky black substance that was circling the space around him, like a lion stalking its prey.

Admittedly Natsu thought it must have been pretty stupid to stall like this, seeing as he couldn't do much besides flail helplessly while plummeting to his imminent death.

He quickly regretted these thoughts as it quickly honed in on him from all sides and slammed into him with a crushing blow. Any normal person would have been a spot of blood stained on the void of space by now (if they'd even been able to get to that stage since a normal person wouldn't be able to breathe in space to begin with), but Natsu's body, being stronger than the average human, managed to stay intact, though it still felt like his rib cage was imploding into itself.

Horrendous flashbacks hit Natsu like a train as the pressure reminded him of when his heart would hammer in his chest before trying to capsize.

He grew even angrier, tears forming in the corner of his eyes at the thought of living in such pain again—at the memory of death. Was he going to die?

Natsu drew in a breath as he caught a glimpse of light just beyond the cage of ethernano he was currently trapped in. It was probably the sun, but all Natsu could imagine was bright golden hair framing a pale and delicate face, wearing that familiar fierce expression. He managed to push his hand out, as he reached for her, but gasped as he remembered how he'd last seen her—his near-death vision of her fading.

She'd looked shocked and hurt. She'd been sad and crying, pounding against the door separating them, begging him not to do this.

The pressure seemed nonexistent to him now as he let out a tired huff. Like hell he would die now—he had to go find Lucy and apologize.

He had no choice but to win.

Natsu's blood then began to burn as the Etherious in him stirred to life, rushing through him like a fire in his veins. If you were to ask him what exactly he did, he couldn't give you an exact answer—just that he was surrounded in bright warmth—a light that freed him from his cage and contained the Etherious in one fell swoop.

The light expanded, growing into an immeasurable size as Natsu's rage and determination grew.

No one had known much about Natsu Dragneel. He was an odd boy with odd powers, found in an abandoned station with no recollection of his past. No one knew exactly what happened that day, either—just that for that one day, from everywhere in the world, two suns could be seen glittering in the sky.

* * *

It had been a month.

A month of waiting, crying, and counting the days since she had last seen him.

Lucy had been a mess since they arrived on Earth, and no one really messed with her. She had been occupying the small house she and Natsu had stayed in before, and she would visit the nearby lake and just watch the stars every night, praying he'd come back soon.

She was headed to that same spot tonight. Fireflies danced around her, moving as if they were leading her to the spot.

She paused as she caught glimpse of a tuft of pink on the sandy lake shore—pink hair. And the person it was attached to was completely unconscious.

Worry flitted through her heart as she rushed to the body, to check if the person was still breathing. Her worries were dissipated when she saw him take a breath, and she sighed in relief as she brushed his hair out of his face.

Tears of happiness streaked down her face as she took in his features. He was beaten up, yes, and she could see that he had some nasty wounds, but she was just glad he was alive.

She felt like her heart grew twice as big when Natsu's eyes fluttered open, his lashes shadowing his dark eyes. She noticed them light up a bit as they met with hers, and she didn't doubt that her own eyes did the same.

"Welcome back," she greeted softly.

Natsu grinned lopsidedly, tears forming in the corner of his eyes.

"I'm home…!"


	10. Extra: Zeref's Log

Hello everyone and THANK YOU for your loyalty to my story, Project Zero! This is half an author's note, and half a special bonus for you Zeref fans and to tie up loose ends about what exactly the etherious in this story IS.

For now, though I would like to thank everyone for;

9 Chapters

18k Words

31 Favorites

61 Follows

And 34 reviews.

It has delighted me SO much to see every follow, fav, and review (especially reviews) and I'm glad to have contributed to this fandom! This story has been my pride and joy and I hope you all love it too!

And I personally would like to thank; xxiamtheskyxx/nothingbutwordsstuff(Tumblr), kagero-assasin(Tumblr), and BAMITZSophie(DA) for their contributions.

Mira, your beta-reading has been a huge help and I greatly appreciate you hitting me over the head with logic to keep me grounded and focused, and questioning my reasons for the things I did. It helped me develop this story into what it is! Also thanks for helping me study rain for chapter 5, and THE ALMIGHTY TOASTER SCENE!

Kay, my dear fun brick, your enthusiasm and over-reacting has made writing this all that more fun! Also thanks for helping me write certain parts that I couldn't quite figure out how to write (same goes for soul-sis Mira) I HOPE YOU LIKE THIS SPECIAL CHAPTER

Sophie, thank you for your wonderful artwork for the cover for this story! I admire it every day!

And one last one; Ladyfireazula. Thanks for giving me the idea for the last snippet of the story!

And my final note: THERE WILL BE A SEQUEL. I already have a lot planned, all funny, fluffy, and angsty, and I can't wait to share it with you all! Mira has been helping me with the plot as well as another close friend, so that will be up after I finish one of the stories on my plate, Either Ace of Hearts or my collab with Mira, Proceed with Caution (A punk rock AU).

That's all I have to say, so for now, goodbye to everyone who followed this story! If you want to find me and ask any questions at all, you can find me on Tumblr as sirdragneel (url changed since 2nd chap) or DA as multisora101.

Goodbye! 3

 ** _Zeref's Log: Date- 7-30-1888  
-_**

 _I knew it would happen one day but I wasn't prepared. As if fearing my little brother dead for a week wasn't enough, he had turned up alive only for his heart to fail under the trauma of war and heartbreak. He was much too innocent for this world, and never deserved such a painful death, and I won't accept it._

 _I must find a way to reverse this._

 ** _Zeref's Log: Date- 8-16-1888  
-_**

 _I have kept his body preserved for about two weeks. I have studied for hours, searched far and wide, asked every doctor and scientist for a possible cure to death. Everyone has called me a fool for dreaming and to just have the funeral already._

 _I won't give up till Natsu can breathe again, and live to have the family he had always wished for._

 _I must search harder._

 ** _Zeref's Log: Date-12-24-1888  
-_**

 _I have had a breakthrough of the century. Call it a Christmas miracle if you will, but a star fell from the sky while I was on my travels, searching for a cure. I ran tests on the material, and it has all the properties that could possibly emulate life._

 _But it's not enough. What other secrets is space holding from me? I must get there at all costs._

 ** _Zeref's Log: Date-5-19-1908  
-_**

 _After 20 years of trying and failing I have perfected the first space station. But no more progress has been made on my little brother… wait for me, Natsu_

 ** _Zeref's Log: Date-2-1-1909  
-_**

 _I have acquired the perfect, life-enhancing material. Mavis keeps warning me to be careful, but I have no choice. I have named the black, particle-like substance, etherious. It seems to have a consciousness of its own and me interfere with the process of resurrecting Natsu, which I have named 'Project Zero' to stop suspicions from arising from my crew._

 _Further testing must be done._

 ** _Zeref's Log: Date-4-10-1918  
-_**

 _After injecting myself with etherious for ten years I can confirm that it is like a poison to the human body. I was able to get it into a less concentrated form that can be used to make my own life last longer. Mavis insisted I supply her with the drug, saying "It can't be helped, you need a babysitter"._

 _But like all poisons, one can become immune to it._

 ** _Zeref's Log: Date-9-17-2000  
-_**

 _It has been a slow process. I have been slowly injecting Natsu's body with etherious, and he's finally become fully immune. Even more interesting, the etherious isn't just supplying its power to Natsu, but it's stopped resonating with the main source completely, and has merged with his blood stream._

 _I'm close to completing my life goal, all I need is more time._

 ** _Zeref's Log: Date-10-30-2020  
-_**

 _Natsu's readings are becoming stronger by the day, and with the drug I have made, I hope to be alive when he does. Should anything happen to me or this station, I've set up a secret command room, which will focus any remaining power to stabilizing my dear brother's life-readings, and continue my work without me._

 _But Mavis has been more and more concerned lately, and I fear for the sinking of my own stomach as well._

 ** _Zeeref's Log: Date-10-31-2020_**

 _Mavis was right. Something is wrong. All my current tests involving etherious suddenly exploded, and the particles are nowhere to be found. I find myself looking to Natsu's unconscious body in times like this, for he would always have the right thing to say…_

 _But now isn't the time to be dreaming of a past long forgotten. I must make preparations for the worst. And should the worst come… It is up to Project #0 to save us pathetic humans. All we can do now is wait, and hope for the best._

 _Brother… Forgive me…_


End file.
